Mutants of Twilight: Training Day
by L1701E
Summary: One-Shot. Set in RogueFanKC's Misfitverse. After the events of "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight", the West Coast Misfits do some training, and Red Dragon is not impressed. Read and Review, please!


**Training Day**

**Disclaimer: I only own two characters in this story. The others all belong to their respective owners, this is just for fun. **

**Author's Note: This is set about a couple of weeks after the end of RogueFanKC's fic "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight". It contains some minor spoilers, and it's set before "Dazzled in Dallas".**

**Malibu Base**

Malibu Base was a second headquarters for the GI Joe team, named for its location near the California city of the same name. The base was home to a second group of Joes that were brought together to help guard the Western half of the United States against terrorist threats, both human...and superhuman.

Like their counterparts in the Pit over in Florida, the Joes here had some special young wards. They were mutants, people born with the potential to have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man. And several of them were sharpening their skills and powers.

It was a special chamber underneath the West Coast Misfit Manor, a red-brick mansion that housed the group of young superhumans and their Joe handlers. The chamber was a training area inspired by the X-Men's own Danger Room. The West Coast Misfits' version was known as the Danger Zone (One of the West Coast Misfits was a bit of a nut for 80s music, hence the name).

Inside the Zone, four of the young heroes inside were showing off their powers.

"Whoo-_hoooo!_" A blonde girl whooped as she flew around, clad in a green-and-yellow uniform. It had yellow gloves and boots. The collar area was yellow, and the green cowl left her golden hair free. The arms had black-and-yellow webbing that went from her lower arms to her thighs.

_**Siryn. Real Name: Theresa Rourke-Cassidy. Birthplace: County Mayo, Ireland. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Can emit high-decibel "sonic screams" for various effects, flight.**_

The Irish girl eyed some drones flying after her. They were small spherical drones, each about the size of a volleyball. They opened up vertically, and seemingly sprouted sawblades around their circumferences. The buzzsaw blades whirled as they approached the girl. _Ah, they want ta hear me siren song, eh? Okay, I'll oblige them._ A smirk formed on her face as she maneuvered to face them.

_**EEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

She fired out a powerful sonic scream. The waves of sonic energy made the drones vibrate. They vibrated faster...and faster...until they shattered into pieces. Theresa smiled in satisfaction. She squeaked as a laser blast raced by her ear.

"Stay focused, Siryn." A male Boston-accented voice told her over a loudspeaker. "If that were real, the consequences could have been disastrous." She turned and saw another trio of the spheres flying towards her. The lead orb had its sides opened, revealing small blasters. The other two orbs' sides opened, revealing small blasters of their own. The Irish blonde frowned.

_Okay, time to give them a taste of me siren song, too!_ She fired another sonic scream at the drones. On the ground, several humanoid-looking drones were firing lasers at a white-and-red blur.

"Can'tcatchmecan'tcatchmecan'tcatchme!" The blur taunted as it dodged the laser blasts. The source of the blur was a young boy wearing a white costume with red boots and gloves. The suit had a large red stripe running down the center of the suit, the sides of the stripe in lightning-style jagged lines. Like with Theresa, the cowl of the boy's suit left his wild mop of brown hair free. The cowl also had a pair of built-in goggles with yellow lenses.

_**Impulse. Real Name: Bartholomew "Bart" Allen. Birthplace: Birmingham, AL. Affiliation: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Superhuman speed.**_

"Stop taunting the robots, Impulse." The male Boston-accented voice ordered. The humanoid drones continued trying to shoot at the young mutant. They didn't notice the black-clad figure sneaking up on them and raising its arm. The figure then lowered its arm. With a whirring noise, three small metal projectiles raced through the air, imbedding themselves in the backs of the drones.

_Thok! Thok! Thok!_

_**Boom! Boom! Boom!**_

The explosive shuriken did their work, crippling the drones and making them fall over. The figure smiled. He was a handsome lad, with his blonde hair in a mullet like the 80s pop star Limahl. He wore what appeared to be a black leather jacket with black pants, and boots. The jacket had a emblem of a multi-pointed yellow star over the right breast. Crossing his chest was a bandolier with more shuriken on it, and a strap for a satchel. Around his waist was a brown utility belt. His left eye glowed a soft yellow, and his bare hands were unusual, as they only had three fingers and a thumb.

_**Longshot. Real Name: N/A, but given Earth name Arthur Centino. Birthplace: Mojoworld. Affiliations: Mojo (Formerly), West Coast Misfits (Currently). Physiology: Artificially-created lifeform. Powers and Abilities: Superhuman agility, luck manipulation, psychometry.**_

In a control area, two other members of the team were watching the action.

"So far, so good." One of them smiled, sitting in a chair. She was a slim girl, with gray skin and pink eyes with cat-like irises. She had pink hair, styled to resemble a pair of horns. She was dressed in some civilian clothes: A pair of black pants, and a pink tank top stylishly torn at the bottom to show her midriff. She also had on a thin purple-and-black scarf around her neck.

_**Jinx. Real Name: Unknown. Birthplace: Unknown (Presumably somewhere in India). Affiliations: H.I.V.E. (Formerly), West Coast Misfits (Currently). Physiology: Enhanced Human (Magical). Powers and Abilities: Can create hexes that cause bad luck. Skilled martial artist and gymnast. **_

The leader of the West Coast Misfits couldn't help but be a little bit proud. Sure, the three new members of the team were...a bit messy, but they would work out. They were diamonds in the rough. _Besides, it wouldn't be the Misfits without a little craziness..._ She glanced at her companion. _Too bad Jake refuses to see it that way._

The other person was a tall, muscular young man, with fiery red hair that went down to his shoulders. At his temples, it was golden yellow. He was wearing a red polo shirt with blue jeans. His intense, cold blue eyes observed his four teammates carefully, taking in every detail.

_**Red Dragon. Real Name: Jake Robert Wildfire. Birthplace: Boston, MA. Affiliations: West Coast Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and abilities: Flight, fire breath. Can transform into an anthropomorphic dragon for short periods of time. In "Dragon Mode", has superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing factor.**_

"Hmmm..." Jake thought.

"Something wrong?" Jinx asked.

"Nothing much, really." Jake admitted. "This team has problems."

"Well, to be fair, we're still all a bit burned out after the Gathering." Jinx recalled.

"...yeah." Jake said. "It's not that. I've never really liked being on this team."

"You've made that clear constantly. Yet you still are looking over our training sessions."

"To be fair, if we're stuck on this team, then the least we can do is make sure they're in fighting shape. Too bad this team has so many problems."

"We've done fine so far." Jinx shrugged. "Besides, what is it the Marines here like to say? Adapt and Overcome?"

"The Superstars are taking a break, so that's half the team out of action. And at full strength, we still have problems. _Four_ of the team have the same damn powers. Big weak spot there."

"So? Look at the Green Lantern Corps. They all have the same powers." Jinx countered. "And the Superstars can't help that. They're family, after all."

Jake sighed. "I know. Believe me, I know." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I feel like Cassandra the prophet sometimes. I feel like I know that this team will not be able to handle what's coming, and no one will listen."

"...what do you mean by that?" Jinx asked.

"What if we go up against something that can handle energy powers?" Jake frowned. "Half this team has some kind of energy power. We'd be in big trouble."

"Not everyone on the team does." Jinx shrugged. "And don't forget. The West Coast Misfits have made a lot of connections thanks to the Superstars' touring. We got a _ton_ of connections. We _literally_ have several nations' main superteams on speed dial. All we have to do is call, and they'll help."

"They often have their own crises to deal with, though." Jake pointed out. It's not like Japan, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the European Union, or any of those other places don't have supervillains of their own."

"Again, lots of connections." Jinx pointed out. Jake shook his head.

"We can't depend on that, Jinx." The Bostonian mutant pointed out. "This team needs to be more self sufficient." He growled and pressed a button. "Allen! You nearly let that laser hit you!"

"Jake, calm down." Jinx told him. "It's just a training session."

"The point of these training sessions is to prepare these newbies for the actual work they will have to do as a West Coast Misfit."

"Jake, I think you're being a bit hard on them." Jinx said. "Look, I get that you don't like them, but you shouldn't push them like this. We're all a bit tired and burned out."

"You think I'm not?" Jake grumbled. "The problem is, we can't really take a break. The Gathering didn't spell the end the end for _all _our enemies. And as you know, some new problems had popped up."

"Yeah." Jinx sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Like for the X-Men. Things seemed to go so well for them, but..."

"What amazes me is that the X-Men really did not expect that the Hellions would have families." Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Or that those families would not be aware of the truth of what their 'precious little angels' would be actually like."

"Yeah, but it's funny, huh?" Jinx noted. "All it took was a lawsuit, and suddenly the X-Men are public enemy number one again."

Jake shrugged, keeping his eyes on the training mutants below. "Not surprising, really. The X-Men had no idea how to deal with the media. And Frost was much smarter than them at it. I honestly don't feel too sorry for them." He heard an explosion. "Wildstar, watch your back! Just because you have a damn healing factor doesn't mean you can just take hits!" He snapped.

"Hey, gimme a break!" Wildstar was heard yelping. "_You_ try dodging all of this at once, Red!"

"Jake, give him a break." Jinx ordered. "Maybe we should stop for a while."

"Fine." Jake input some commands into the console. "Take a break."

"Huh?" Theresa blinked as she floated down to the ground.

"What was that about? Jake _never_ ends sessions early." Bart blinked in confusion.

"We _have_ been working hard." Longshot pointed out. "Maybe he is rewarding us."

"Who cares?" Ace grunted. "Dragon Boy's been on us all the time. I could use some time away from him." He walked out, the others behind him. "God, what is his deal?"

"I think he's in pain." Longshot told him. "He's hurting and lonely, but he doesn't feel he can trust us."

"Longshot, he _hates_ us." Ace said. The conversation continued as they left. Jake watched them leave, then turned to Jinx, who was blinking at him in amazement.

"What?"

"You actually listened to me."

"Why not?" Jake said. "You're right. They need a break, and I can focus on you. Win-win."

"You said you don't feel sorry for the X-Men. Why is that?"

"Well..." Jake scowled. "It always seemed to me that the X-Men...well...they never seemed to understand something."

"What?"

"...not all mutants got to have a fancy mansion to hide themselves in all damn day long." Jake pointed out. "Some of us. Jinx...had to live out in the real world. We had to _put up_ with people saying we were freaks and monsters. We couldn't hide from the world in a fancy mansion. So now, they have to put up with the stuff mutants like I had to put up with. Can't say I got a ton of empathy for them as a result. Maybe now they'll get some perspective."

"Still, it is quite sad."

"If you say so."

"We're getting off topic here. I still think you're pushing the new kids too hard."

"Jinx, I've told you why."

"I know, I understand. You are right, Jake. We've got some new threats on our hands, and the Gathering didn't take care of all our old enemies."

"And you can bet that they aren't going to wait for the newbies to get good."

"True. But the way you bark at them, I think there's something else going on."

"What's that, Jinx?" Jake frowned.

"We all know you have never liked being on this team. And we also all know you still got some serious issues with General Whithalf."

"Ohh, I know where this is going."

"I think you're taking out your anger at Whithalf on them." Jinx said. "You can't get at him, so you bully the new guys here as a way of pretending you're training them."

"Not my fault they can't handle hard training."

"It's not right, Jake. You're hurting the team."

"This team is already a mess as it is." Jake countered. "There are eleven of us. The Superstars are more part-time thanks to their own musical careers, not to mention the superpower redundancy they have. And since they have five members, that's cut the team practically in half. That leaves you, me, Wildstar, Longshot, Impulse, and Siryn. The latter three are newbies, who need a lot of work. And remember that it was only because of _stinkin' luck_ that we got past that fat Hellfire Club jackass Leland. I don't like pushing luck if I can help it."

"Jake, you're always looking at the downside." Jinx groaned. "It's not like the Superstars are never around. They've scaled back their public performance schedule. Hell, considering how hard they toured as part of their work for us, they're seriously considering not doing one at all (or at least really scaling back) for their next album."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Oh, I bet Singh took _that_ well."

"Is she didn't know about us, she would." Jinx retorted. "Yes, you are right, the Starrs do bring a power redundancy. But keep in mind, only _three_ members of this team have similar powers: Paul, Craig, and Jen. Three out of _eleven._ The vast majority of this team have powers different from each other. We're in better shape than you think."

"This team feels like a mess to me."

"That's what they said about the East Coast team." Jinx shrugged with a smile. "And look how great they turned out."

"We're not the Misfits. We'll never _be_ the Misfits."

"No one is asking us to be the eastern team, Jake." Jinx said. "You shouldn't be so hard on them. If you ask me, I think they showed they had potential when we fought Harry Leland."

"We won by _dumb luck._"

"It wasn't luck, Jake. They're better than you think they are." The pink-haired Indian sorceress smiled. "I know you think that this team is a disaster, but I think that whatever future threats rear their ugly head...our guys can handle it. And even if that's not enough, just remember..." She smirked. "Thanks to the Superstars, we might possibly have the best superhero Rolodex in existence. We have the major superteams of several _nations_ on speed dial. Alpha Flight in Canada, Big Hero 6 in Japan, the Winter Guard in Russia, S.H.E in the European Union, the list goes on. Jake, we're not exactly in a bad place right now. I think you need to have more faith in us and not let your resentment of General Whithalf poison you."

"I have a damn good reason to hate that old SOB." Jake growled.

"He was trying to help you, Jake. You and your brother. Why do you get so mad about that? Did you want him to leave you and your brother for dead? Do you two have a death wish or something?"

Jake shot an 'are-you-serious' look at Jinx. "Why do people seem to think Kyle and I have a death wish?!"

"Because you get mad about Whithalf trying to protect you!"

"We didn't _want _it! That's all!" Jake snapped. "Why is that so damn hard for anyone to understand?!"

"Because you sound so crazy!" Jinx exclaimed.

Jake shook his head. "Look, you may feel you owe something to that old man for giving you a home after the HIVE threw you out, but as far as I'm concerned, the old man deserves nothing from me. Especially not my respect. I think he's a damned fool, and this team is proof of how much of a fool he is. I'm going to get some food because I'm hungry." Jake walked out of the control room, making Jinx sigh.

_How do I get **through** to those boys? _The pink-haired sorceress plled out her phone and started browsing on it. "Huh. The Dazzler recently revealed she was a mutant...didn't the Superstars suspect she was one?"

_**Thanks for reading!**_


End file.
